Operators of mobile communications networks can provide voice service and data service, including service to users of mobile telephones or mobile computing devices. Voice and data service may be provided by a transceiver, such as a radio access node (also “radio,” “node,” or “RAN”), to provide coverage for an area of the mobile communications network. The radio provides service to users of the mobile communications network, such as to a geographical region or to a portion of the user population. Users may travel in and out of the coverage area of the radio while using mobile devices, and users may choose to access different services via the radio. These circumstances may lead to constantly changing demands (also, “load”) on the radio's capacity.
Users of mobile devices may expect to have a high level of service regardless of a radio's capacity or pattern of peak demand. One technique to provide a high level of service is to increase the number of radios capable of providing service. But, factors such as geographical features or regulatory requirements may prevent network operators from installing additional radios in certain areas. In addition, adding and installing additional radios may be costly.
For example, users of mobile communications networks often choose to consume data using their mobile communications devices. The mobile device may connect to a radio and consume (e.g., download or upload) data in the form of websites, music, videos, e-books, game information, or any other suitable data types. Different types of data transfer can include exchanging different amounts of data, and may consume a different portion of the capacity of the radio. A user that is watching a video may consume a larger portion of a radio's data bandwidth as compared to a user that is sending an email.